It would be disingenuous to talk about SERENITY without addressing the Whedonesque Elephant in the ship, so to speak. So, yes, this Real Talk segment devotes some time to the rise and fall of the Whedon brand. But we also talk about Serenity itself, and how it works for someone who’s not familiar with the show versus how it works for a hardcore Firefly fan. And can you enjoy the movie if you didn’t care for the show? It’s all answered here!

The year was 2005 and Joss Whedon decided to audition for a spot among Big Hollywood Blockbuster Directors. He submitted SERENITY for our collective consideration and it didn’t quite light the world on fire, despite its passionate fanbase - who would’ve thought a movie based on a short-lived cult show wouldn’t break box office records? Still, it’s fresh on the Tomatometer, so it’ll get the Contrarians Treatment!

(Patrons: check your feeds for a discussion about FIREFLY that leads right into this episode.)

The actual title is DOMINION: PREQUEL TO THE EXORCIST, which really rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? Anyway, we continue paying our Livestream for the Cure debt by doing a commentary on the Paul Schrader version of the fourth Exorcist movie - which happens to be the one you can watch for free!

Director Nick Cassavetes has a penchant for successfully manipulating audiences into loving movies most critics scoff at. That explains the disconnect between JOHN Q’s 26% Tomatometer score and its 78% Popcornmeter score. Of course, we live in a world where half the American population low-key celebrated the death of a healthcare company’s CEO so we shouldn’t be surprised most regular folk sided with Denzel on this one. Lots to talk about in this Real Talk segment!

More than 20 years before Luigi Mangione became a controversial celebrity, Denzel Washington was taking on the American healthcare system in JOHN Q - a thrilling hostage flick that might have been a bit too challenging for movie critics, leading to a rotten 26% Tomatometer score. Listen to Alex & Julio as they discuss the many twists and turns embedded in health insurance and wonder if it’s okay to still like James Woods as an actor.

To tackle Michael Radford’s NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR on the sixth installment of Fresh Immigrants, Rotten Fascists almost feels like a cliche. But then, isn’t the current political climate in America a bundle of tired authoritarian tropes anyway? And so we dive into this bleak adaptation of Orwell’s dystopian tale and marvel at how it predicted Fox News - among other things.

Thank you for checking this new project out, whether you are a long-time Contrarians fan or someone who’s just trying to listen to people talking positively about immigrants and negatively about fascism. If you have any recommendations for future entries in the series, let us know!

Regardless of where your allegiances lie - with Ivan, Felix, or Lola - odds are that you’ll have a good time watching OFFICIAL COMPETITION. That is, of course, unless the movie’s relentless focus on rehearsals turns you off. Or you could have a problem with the complete absence of sympathetic characters in the cast. Was that the case for one or both of The Contrarians? Listen to this Real Talk segment to find out!

Breaking news: successful filmmakers and actors are very likely to be pretentious tools completely disconnected from reality. We’ve known this for over a century, so did we really need a movie that’s exclusively about that? The team behind OFFICIAL COMPETITION thought so, and critics agreed, stamping a 96% Tomatometer score on it. That means it’s time for The Contrarians to bring Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, and Oscar Martinez down to Earth! Listen to Alex & Julio as they try to figure out if they can even pick a side in this three-way conflict.

44 INCH CHEST isn’t particularly gory, nasty, or offensive. It’s pretty foul-mouthed, but not to the point where THAT would tank its chances with critics and audiences. So is it a bit of a whiff because most people have trouble caring for Ray Winstone and his friends? Are they too reprehensible to elicit any sympathy? We try to figure it out in this Real Talk segment!

You thought John Wayne was problematic last episode? We’ve got five British powerhouses ready to give him a run for his money in the criminally underrated 44 INCH CHEST! The movie’s 40% Tomatometer score seems to reflect people’s inability to cope with bad behavior when it’s not traditionally scolded, so listen to Alex & Julio try to be open-minded and give Ray Winstone a shot!